Planning a State Meeting ASCLS Mentorship Program

What is a State Meeting and why do we have them? State meetings are state societies’ version of the national meeting They are usually held in late winter or early spring State meetings allow for: Continuing Education (CE) opportunities Networking Both with other individuals and with vendors Business and social The state board to hold its annual business meeting Revenue for the sponsoring organization

Planning a state meeting Planning a state meeting is a lot of work. There is a lot more that goes into the process than people think and most states start planning for their state meetings far in advance. Book hotel 1-2 years in advance States usually put together a state meeting steering committee whose sole purpose is planning the meeting. General Chair(s) Coordinate with hotel and oversee subcommittees Steering committee will have subcommittees (examples include) Registration Program Vendors Advertisement Social

Putting together a Timeline With any large project, it helps to organize a timeline It helps if: You use actual dates Have goals or objectives for each meeting Include “soft” and “hard” deadlines With a “soft” deadline things can be edited after the fact. Once the “hard” deadline is reached no more changes can be made.

Major Meeting Details Length of meeting- One day? Two days? Three Days, Week? Location- Hotel, University, Hospital, etc. Is this location easy for people to access? Is there parking? How many people can it hold? Number of breakout rooms vs. large banquet rooms vs. guest rooms What does the layout look like? What does this venue provide? Do they provide AV services? (Cost vs. services) Will they allow us to provide our own AV? (What about technical staff) Room discounts? Does the venue offer food or do I need to get it from an outside source? Is anything going to coincide with the meeting? Board meetings, student bowls, awards banquet, social activities, etc.

Putting together a program What time does the day start and end? How many educational sessions do you want? How many sessions per day? How many sessions per hour/timeslot? Do you want a Keynote Speaker or two? (Opening or closing) Will there be designated time for visiting vendors? Breaks? How many and how long? Will the group provide drinks, snacks, or food? Meals?

Finding Speakers Start by determining the subjects you want to cover. Usually want speakers in Hematology, Chemistry, Blood bank, and Microbiology. Other categories include: management, education, student/NP related topics Assign people to certain speaker groups. Base assignments off of the possible connections that people have. Ex. A blood bank supervisor will have an easier time looking for blood bank speakers than micro speakers. Go with what you know. (This is often done by the program subcommittee) Speakers are usually found in two ways Reaching out to a person and asking them if they would be interested in speaking. They can pick the subject they wish to present. Having an idea for a presentation in mind and asking if a person with knowledge in that area would speak to that specific topic. As the program begins to fill up, look at the list of speakers and topics and identify if there are any gaps or needs that need to be filled Make sure that all presentations are unique enough that people don’t feel like they are attending the same presentation twice. If you are having a hard time finding speakers or topics, ask for your members opinions. Take note of what people are interested in learning about.

Finding Speakers States may offer an honorarium to the presenters. The honorariums are usually built into the budget for the meeting. Need to determine how much to give. Not all speakers take the honorarium when offered. Some will allow the state to keep the money In lieu of honoraria, all speakers receive a small gift Some speakers might ask for additional money for travel and hotel expenses Does your budget allow that? Some companies will sponsor speakers/presentations Vendors are also a source for finding speakers.

Finding speakers When a speaker commits they will usually be asked to fill out an abstract form. This form will ask for the speaker’s credentials, place of employment and a description and objectives for their presentation This information will be used in the program book Forms will also need to be filled out to get sessions PACE approved

Finding Vendors Vendors pay to have displays at state meetings. This helps the state offset the cost of the meeting At least one person should be in charge of looking for vendors When trying to get vendors Let them know approximately how many people will be attending the meeting Give them an idea of how much space they will have and the layout if possible Be clear about the cost and what is included in that price. Let them know what the exhibit hours will be. Vendors want to make sure that sending someone to the meeting to work a booth will be worth it. If they do not feel that they will get a good flow of people coming through, then they might not accept the offer. Consider developing a” vender game” as an incentive to have members visit every booth.

Registration Forms and Programs Registration forms are usually sent out with the program for the meeting Usually sent out at least a month and a half before the meeting Registrations fees are usually set by the state’s BOD based off of the budget for the meeting Some states usually have early bird pricing and different rates for members vs. non members Students are often given a discounted rate. The form will often ask which session the members are planning on attending in order to gauge session popularity or adjust room sizes.

Before the Meeting Get all the paperwork together so it is ready to go the morning of the meeting Attendee packets Nametags PACE information and evaluation forms Try and get moderators before the day of the meeting so you are not scrambling for someone at the last minute Also gives the person a chance to read over what they have to say Make sure everything is ready to go at the venue

During the Meeting During registration in the morning, make sure you have enough people working the table so the line doesn’t get too long If the venue does not have an AV person, have at least one person in charge of AV in case any issues occur If rooms are not clearly marked, have someone that will be able to direct people to the correct place At some point during the meeting someone from the BOD or meeting planning committee should thank everyone for coming to the meeting. (during lunch, before keynote, or any other time where everyone is together) Enjoy listening to the sessions and learning new things Make an effort to network and meet new people from your state. Talk to vendors Even if you are a student or have no say in purchasing, still go visit the vendors.

After the Meeting Have a post meeting wrap up What worked? What didn’t? What should be changed for next year? Determine how much money was made from the meeting Did you make a profit or break even? How much money you make will effect how you plan next year’s meeting Go through the PACE evaluation forms What sessions were well liked and which weren’t Send thank you letters and honorariums to speakers Celebrate a successful meeting!

Alternative Meeting Ideas Smaller, 1 or 2-hour Continuing Education Meetings Pros: ASCLS meetings can be attended in areas that normally wouldn’t support a larger event Gets the word out about ASCLS, especially if 2 or 3 meetings are held in a year at varying locations Partnering with an MLS/MLT club at a school, exposes future laboratory professionals to ASCLS, in-person attendance at CE events, and the opportunity to network with local professionals Inexpensive or free CE opportunities gives state members a visible return on their state dues investment Additional speaker opportunities: newer speakers, vendors wanting to increase visibility, experience that can be added to a CV Costs can be kept very low Cons: Low revenue, possibly none Minimal costs (honorariums, PACE credit, etc) may have to be offset by member dues Only those within driving distance generally attend

Alternative Meeting Ideas Dinner meetings at a restaurant – 1 speaker event Choose a restaurant with a separate meeting room May have AV already Arrange an abbreviated menu with a per-person rate Charge for the session to cover expenses Good combination of social and educational time Evening sessions – 1 speaker event Catch them on the way home (allow some time for traffic, daycare pickup) Choose a night they might not have plans (avoid Friday, big game night, special events) Consider light food, they may be missing dinner Saturday morning sessions – 2 speaker event Time of day, balance between not too early and leaving most of their day free Make it worth getting up for: a couple of speakers, coffee and a scone may attract more than one early speaker with no coffee

Alternative Meeting Ideas Consider coordinating with local chapters of other groups: AMT, CLMA, there may be others Coordinating with a school may require the MLS club or program to be the primary sponsor State society takes a supporting role State society will probably not be able to charge for meeting School may provide room and AV normally used in classes Registration can be as simple as a survey link for low cost events Gives a prospective number for handouts, food, and seating Gives some the feeling of an obligation to attend even if they haven’t paid; they “registered” Requesting e-mail addresses adds to the society’s contact list for adverse weather notifications and future event flyers